I bought this around June last year and I hit pan on this a few weeks ago *sniffle*. My favourite setting powder before this was the Vichy Dermablend Setting powder (which I still love but this one is just so darn convenient!)

Price

$41.00 Can for 0.24 oz of product

Packaging

The compact came in a little black pouch with a rectangular, super thin, flat sponge type applicator, neither of which I kept around past the first day or so. I found the sponge applicator useless for my needs. This applies SO much better with a fluffy brush. The case for the powder looks like a large version of their blushes. It has a slight rubbery finish to it, making it easier to grip.

The compact includes a mirror but it gets dusty pretty quick and I have personally never used it. However it is a nice feature to have for a compact powder.

The packaging was one of the main selling points of this product. A translucent setting powder in pressed form was not really common before this one. It’s a sturdy compact and I’ve had no issues with it.

Pigmentation

This is a setting powder, it has zero pigmentation. If you load up your brush too much ( which is actually hard to do) you may look a bit ashy if you are very tan, but this is pretty hard to do!

Texture

While the packaging may have won many people over, the texture is where it got me. What an amazing texture this has! You can tell how much I love it because…

The first few times I tried it I was sure my brush wasn’t picking up anything. In fact, this may be true because when you first buy it you need to scratch the surface a bit( I used the edge of a sheet of papre to scrape a thin layer off) to get to the wonderful stuff that lies beneath that hard exterior!! That was a minor detail that won’t take away from my rating of this in any way !

It looks like a very tightly packed rectangular slab of Mica or …or what tightly packed white glistening sand ( or ice!) may look like. It looks SO pretty when its new ! However there is NO shimmer once on your face. It makes everything look perfectly matte, smooth, adds no colour and is not drying AT ALL. How can you not love this powder:)

The effect is VERY SUBTLE but very there, and more obvious in person – it makes skin look very smooth. What it really excels at however is as a setting powder for under eye concealer. My concealer does not budge if I dust even the thinnest layer of this on and I cant get it to look cakey even if I try ! For the pictures below I’ve dusted it over my tinted moisturiser and under eye concealer. You can tell how it just softens everything and makes it look more “put together”. It also makes any makeup that I have on my face last hours more than it would with out it!

Application

I personally did not like the sponge that this came with. I like using either of these fluffy brushes below:

I use the one of the left for dusting it under my eyes and the larger fluffy brush for everywhere else. I also like using it to diffuse blush/bronzer to soften any harsh edges. I literally just drag my brush across the surface once very lightly and that’s it. That’s all you need.

Rating

(Note: This is supposed to be translucent and it is, hence the high rating on Pigmentation as well)

Verdict

I have literally worn this every single day since the time I got it – I’ve worn it to work, to play, to photoshoots (there’s no white cast) – it’s just an awesome setting powder. This is a MUST HAVE product for me. If you’re looking for a non-drying, non-cakey, all round awesome convenient setting powder – this is it!